Index Exchange has become the latest in a string of publishers and supply-side platforms (SSPs) to sue Google for what it alleges are anti-competitive business practices.
In a complaint filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Index Exchange alleges that Google illegally tied its publisher ad server to its ad exchange and monopolized both markets.
In particular, Index Exchange claims that in tying together its paid search product AdWords, its publisher ad server DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP), and its ad exchange AdX, Google gave publishers and advertisers virtually no choice but to use its systems.